2nd Chance
by Tf2sniper326
Summary: After seeing so many self-inserts as Sasuke's younger sibling I thought Why not do one as Neji's younger brother?
1. Chapter 1

Well fuck.

Sorry if that gives you the wrong impression of me but what the hell am I supposed to do? I died for crying out loud. In a deep sea fishing trip gone wrong. My group was about to head back when a storm hit and knocked me into the water.

I wasn't wearing a life-jacket cause I was stupid, so I get tossed around in the sea before running out of energy to keep my head above water. Three minutes later I run out of oxygen and I die.

Fuck.

As an atheist I never expected my 'spirit' or 'soul' to go anywhere when I died. I didn't expect anything to happen. When you die that's it right?

Nope. Not for me at least.

Of the many places various religions predict you go when you die I doubt many of them said you'd end up back in a lady's womb. Except Hinduism I guess.

That's right, reborn. A sarcastic sixteen year old guy with mild aspergers syndrome reborn into a baby who can't even hear things properly.

At least that's why I hope I'm hearing gibberish. After I was pulled out of... my 'mother's' vagina. (An experience that I will do everything in my power to forget.) All I could hear was what sounded like Japanese. And I only had a vague idea of what that sounded like because I watched subbed anime.

The voices were drowned out a bit as I was wrapped in blankets. At least that's what I think happened. I hadn't opened my eyes yet.

When I tried to open my eyes it took some effort as it was the first time I'd used them. But after a short while a managed to open them a crack. I was looking up at a pinkish-white blur with a yellow blur on top and a white blur on top of that. I guess I'm being held by a nurse. I tried blinking a few times to clear my vision but nothing cleared up. Oh right, babies don't have clear vision for at least a year. Yippee.

The nurse shook me a bit and the gibberish took a concerned tone. At first I didn't know why they were worried, then I remembered that babies were supposed to cry. I let out a few wails and that seemed to calm everyone down. The nurse handed me over to who I guess was my mother. I could only tell because she was the only one in the room who was lying down and when she held me she rocked me back and forth and spoke softly.

Some more gibberish was exchanged between nurses and I heard something that caught my attention: Hyuuga. At first I thought I'd imagined it but then I heard it again, Hyuuga. Oh please let it just be a coincedince, some Japanese family that just happens to have the same name, please. The idea of being in a fictional universe, (even an awesome on like Naruto's) was freaky enough already, but then you add in the fact since I'm part of a clan that means I'm probably going to have to be a ninja. And while learning ninjutsu and taijutsu sounded awesome, being in life or death situations on a regular basis was somewhat less than awesome. Then there was the fact that I'm a Hyuuga, the most stuck up clan in the whole Hidden leaf village and I was most likely a member of the branch family, meaning Hiashi could melt my brain if I misbehave. Whoop-de-fucking-doo.

* * *

**The next day**

I must have fallen asleep sometime in the hospital because next thing I knew I was being shaken awake. I opened my eyes and looked around. The whole world was still blurry , but I could tell we were outside. I looked up and saw that my 'mother' was holding me and she was calling out to a white compound in front of us. A moment later two blurs came running out, one much taller than the other. I guess the tall blur was my 'father' because he leaned in to give my 'mother' a kiss before looking down at me. He spoke softly in what I guess really is Japanese, it still sounded like gibberish but I didn't have another explanation.

After a few moments 'mother' leaned down to show me to the smaller blur. Of the words exchanged between the three of them at this point I only caught two: Neji and nii-san. I was fairly certain nii-san meant older brother but more importantly: 1 now I was positive I was in the Naruto universe and 2 Neji is my older brother. This got me worried. I knew Neji became colder than ice after his father died. At the moment his... I mean our Dad was still alive but for how much longer?

I looked back at Neji then at... I think our Dad's name is Hizashi, and compared their heights. Neji looked like he was around four and if I squinted I could see a bit of green on his forehead. Great, if I remember correctly Hizashi was sacrificed to the land of Lightning shortly after Neji got the caged bird seal, so at best I have a few days with my new Dad.

This life's of to a fucking fantastic start isn't it?

* * *

**3 Days later**

I'll start with the good news. My mother, Hikari, feeds me with baby formula rather than breast feeding me. I minor detail to some but I think any guy would know why I'm relived. The second piece of good news is that I'm still a guy, I'm not sure how I'd get by if I had been reborn a girl.

On to the slightly bad news, my parents haven't thought up a new name for me yet, its not real bad but it is kind of annoying.

But honestly the really bad news makes all that kind of irrelevant, why? Because it happened last night, the ambassador from the land of Lightning tried to steal Hinata and Hiashi killed him. I didn't see any of it, obviously, but I did hear the scuffle outside and the commotion when Hiashi brought her back in.

I laid back in my crib and tried hard not to cry. I had only known my new Dad for a few days and already the world was taking him away. It just wasn't fair.

'Life isn't fair kid get used to it' I scolded myself. 'Yeah but that doesn't mean I have to like it'

With nothing else to do I fell into a rather restless sleep.

* * *

In the morning things were actually fairly normal. Mom came in to wake and feed me, then left to prepare breakfast for Dad and Neji. It wasn't until I'm pretty sure Neji left the room that the argument broke out. Dad had apparently said something that set Mom off. I could hear her shouting at the top of her lungs while Dad remained as calm and cool as ever. I guess he had told her that he was planning on handing himself over to the Land of Lightning to save Hiashi. Well Mom didn't like it one bit. She yelled at him for a good five minutes before descending into sobs. I heard Dad's voice trying to comfort her and it seemed to work. I guess he must have told her that by doing this he was acting of his own free will. That seemed to calm Mom Down but she still had one argument. I had managed to pick up a few different Japanese words in the few days I was alive so even though I didn't understand most of the question I heard her mention herself, Neji and the baby (me) in it. It didn't take a genius to figure out she asked something along the lines of: What about me, Neji and the baby? There was a long silence.

Then I heard footsteps coming towards my room and a moment later the door opened. As usual I only saw a tall white blur with a black blur for hair, but I recognized it as my Dad. Behind him was a slightly shorter white blur with a brown blur for hair, my Mom. I made a few happy baby noises as they came in and it seemed to cheer them up. Dad reached down into my crib, lifted me out, and held me close. He and Mom exchanged a few words. Then he placed me back in my crib and walked out of the room.

That was the last time I saw my father.

* * *

**One week later**

Well I guess Dad really went through with it. Gave his life to the cloud to save his brother. I only know it happened because right now Mom and Neji are in my room mourning. I can hear Mom openly sobbing and the blur I know is Neji hasn't moved an inch since he sat down.

I lean against the bars and try to think of a way to comfort them, but what could I do? I wasn't even a month old yet.

All of a sudden the door opened and a very familiar looking blur stood in the doorway. Mom and Neji immediately stood up and bowed low.

"Hiashi-sama," they both said. Hiashi nodded and entered the room. He walked over to my crib and looked down at me. If I could see I'm fairly certain I'd see a cold expressionless face. He turned back to Mom and Neji and they stood up. Words were exchanged and I heard Hizashi being mentioned several times. Then Mom seemed shocked. My Japanese was still shaky but I think she asked":

"Are you sure Hiashi-sama?" Hiashi nodded. Mom walked over to my crib and lifted me out.

"Hizashi," she said.

At first I was confused but then it hit me. She had just given me a name.

I just hope I can bear it's weight.

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**future chapters will be at least 2000 words. Please review**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm very bad with the honorifics so please correct me if I'm using them wrong. **_Italics when english is spoken._

* * *

**Four Years later**

Wow. Its amazing how much can happen in four years. The short version is that I haven't matured much despite the fact that I'm technically twenty by now. As soon as I could speak in full sentences I was mouthing off at any form of authority and cracking jokes at Neji to try and make his face move. Needless to say this irritated the members of the main branch family and Neji to no end. But Hikari was surprisingly supportive. I mean yeah she's my Ma and all but she's also a Hyuuga, so learning she was pretty laid back was a surprise. She's a servant to a few Elders so when I disrespect them (meaning I don't worship the ground they walk on) she's the one who has to deal with it. She'll put on a big show of stoic disappointment and drag me away. But as soon as we're out of sight she'll smile, call me her little genius comedian, and tell me to go play.

That's another thing, I was getting the reputation as another Hyuuga genius. The reasons being I was named after someone who was arguably just as good as Hiashi, and I was speaking, reading and writing by the time I was three. Being a toddler can be pretty boring, pretty much the only activity I had to occupy myself with was learning Japanese so I was able to learn it fairly quickly. I keep a journal of all the Japanese words I know including their translations in English. I also write all that I can remember about my previous life in English so I won't forget about it. Don't get me wrong, I love my Mom Hikari, and Neji too, to an extent. But I had friends, family and experiences in my old life that would just feel wrong if I decided to forget about them.

On to my appearance, I have the typical white Hyuuga eyes and my hair is black. I don't grow it long like my Dad did, instead I grow it a little out the front so it covers my forehead and occasionally a few strands come down over the top of my eyebrows. I purposely keep it messy to irk both Neji and Hiashi. I'm currently about three and a half feet tall and most of my clothes consist of Neji's hand-me-downs. Which is basically just a bunch of white T-shirts, dark brown shorts and blue sandals. I also wear a thin black jacket that I keep unzipped, I wear it because it gives me a little more protection, I can keep my journal in it and... well you can guess the last reason by now.

Now the reason for the four year time skip is, well, let's just say that today is special. The past four years have been fun for me but describing how I learned Japanese, telling every way I've pissed off the Elders, AND my fruitless efforts to get Neji to display some kind of emotion would be pretty boring for you. What makes today special is that if Neji is to be believed this is the day I start training in Gentle Fist, needless to say this was going to be pretty exciting.

In the morning I got up, yawned, stretched, got dressed then walked to the dinning room for breakfast. Neji was already setting down at the table and I sat across from him.

"Morning Neji," I said. He nodded, I rolled my eyes.

"Come on nii-san, can you answer me in the morning just once?"

"Now, now Hizashi. You know Neji doesn't like to be bothered before breakfast," said Hikari as she entered the room holding two trays of rice, soup and fish. She set the trays down in front of us and I dug in, Neji eating in a much more, calm manner. Hikari glanced between us and smiled.

"How can you two possibly be brothers?" she wondered aloud.

"You are our Mother, and we are both boys. Therefore we must be some form of brother," said Neji.

"She was talking about why we're so different _dumbass_," I said. Neji shot me a look. He couldn't understand English but he always seemed to know when I was insulting him.

"Why do you speak that gibberish? It's childish," said Neji.

"Newsflash nii-san: I'm four, I'm allowed to be a kid."

"It's completely pointless."

"It pisses you off and that's what a little brother's supposed to do."

"Okay you two, enough. And Hizashi, I don't know where you learned that kind of language but you won't speak that way here," said Hikari.

"You mean the 'gibberish' or the swearing?" I asked.

"What do you think?" asked Hikari.

"Hopefully both," said Neji, taking a sip of his soup.

"_I think we all know that's not gonna happen,_" I said. Neji glared at me and Hikari smiled.

But before either of them could say anything there was a knock at the door. Hikari frowned and left the room to answer it.

"Who could that be?" I asked.

"Your escort most likely," said Neji.

"I thought I was starting training today, what do I need an escort for?"

Neji tapped the seal on his forehead.

"Oh,"

"You didn't honestly think they'd start training you without it did you?"

I poked at the remains of my breakfast, my appetite gone.

"Will it hurt?"

"Yes."

"Will I scream?"

"I would be very surprised if you didn't."

I sighed and set my chop sticks down, then looked Neji right in the eye.

"Promise me something."

Neji raised an eyebrow.

"I know family doesn't mean much to you but actually be there for Mom when they start. And not just occupy space next to her. If she needs her hand held you hold it. If she needs a hug you give it to her," I said, "Just for today, after that you can go back to being heartless."

Neji stared back at me for ten seconds.

"Very well, you have my word," said Neji.

"Good."

We sat in silence for a few moments then Hikari came back in.

"Hizashi, you have a visitor," she said. I nodded and left for the front door. The person there to greet me was a surprise.

"H-hello Hizashi-nii-san," said Hinata.

"Nee-san? Its good to see you but what are you doing here?" I asked. Hinata was pretty much my only friend in the Hyuuga compound, recently though she had started her training so I had seen a lot less of her.

"W-well Father told me to bring you to the Council room. H-he said I n-needed to see what was g-going to happen to y-you th-there," said Hinata, she was looking down and pressing her fingers together.

I sighed. Hiashi probably wanted to toughen her up by making her watch me get sealed. I placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked up.

"Hinata, whatever happens to me today is NOT your fault, so don't blame yourself okay?" I asked. Hinata nodded. I turned back to the house.

"See you later Mom. And you'd better keep your promise Neji," I called.

"See you soon Hizashi," called Hikari, and I knew Neji nodded. I turned back to Hinata and we started walking towards the Council room.

"So, u-um, h-have you gotten Neji-nii-san to, you know,"

"Nope. The most I can get him to do is scowl," I said, "What about Hanabi?"

"W-well she's only three, so I can't r-really tell how she'll turn out," said Hinata, "Do you think she'll be like us?"

I sighed. The anime hadn't put much emphasis on Hanabi but in the few scenes where she did appear she seemed like the typical emotionless Hyuuga.

"I doubt it," Hinata lowered her head, "But that doesn't mean we can't try to save her." Hinata looked up and nodded.

We would've talked more but we had just arrived at the door to the Council room. We stood outside for a few moments.

"Well, no point in delaying the inevitable," I said. I opened the door. The Council room is a very long and plain room, white walls wooden floor, and no furniture. Just some floor mats and torches.

Hinata and I bowed as we entered but when we looked up I saw something that made my blood run cold. Sitting to right of Hiashi was an old man with black hair, and he was wearing white and black robes and bandages covered the top and right part of his face.

Danzo Shimura.

Hinata made her way over to Hiashi and sat on the floor mat to his left but I remained rooted to the spot.

"Hizashi, take your seat," said Hiashi.

"What's he doing here?" I asked pointing to Danzo.

"Disrespectful brat, you will address him as Danzo-sama," said one of the Elders.

"Okay, what is Danzo-sama doing here?" I asked.

"Take your seat Hizashi, it will be explained," said Hiashi.

I gulped, then moved to the floor mat across from Hiashi and sat down.

"Given your reaction boy I think you know what I'm here for," said Danzo.

"Danzo-sama requires a young member of the Hyuuga clan to join Root ANBU," said Hiashi, "You are the best candidate as you are young and display intelligence beyond your years."

I jumped to my feet.

"HELL NO! There is NO WAY I'm going with that monster!," I shouted.

"Insolent little BRAT. You WILL show respect to our guest," yelled a different Elder.

"It's quite alright Elder-sama. Monster is an accurate description of me," said Danzo, he turned to face me, "But what makes you think you have a choice boy?"

Shit. There is no way in hell I was going to become one of Danzo's pawns. But unless I thought of something fast that was exactly what was going to happen. Then I got an idea.

"What if I made a deal with you? To not take me or any other Hyuuga child for now?" I asked. Danzo raised his eyebrow.

"What could you possibly have to dissuade me from recruiting you?" he asked.

"I invented a language. I could teach it to you or one of your ANBU. You could use it to make coded messages even harder to decipher," I said. Hiashi scoffed.

"Are you referring to that gibberish you occasionally spout?" he asked. Danzo however looked thoughtful.

"The current ANBU code is already quite difficult to break. Then again a shinobi can never be to cautious," said Danzo.

"You can't seriously be considering this. All his language is is nonsensical gibberish," said an Elder.

"You said he was intelligent, and thus far I haven't seen any evidence to say he hasn't made it," said Danzo, "However, what's to stop you from teaching the ANBU this language once you've joined them?"

I reached into my jacket and pulled out my journal. Then I walked over to a torch and held it above the flames.

"This book contains all my notes about my language. I can't speak all of it without this book and if you force me to join Root, I'll burn it here and now," I said. Danzo nodded.

"Clever, but now you have to prove your language is complete or its worthless. Tell me something about yourself and if it both sounds complete and I can't decipher it, I'll consider your deal," said Danzo.

"This is ridiculous," said an Elder.

"Quiet, let him speak," said Danzo. I had to keep up the charade that I needed the book to speak English, so I started to take it away from the flames, then a thought hit me.

"How do I know there isn't an ANBU somewhere that'll steal the book the second its away from the fire?" I asked. Danzo chuckled. It was a low noise he made without moving his mouth.

"Very clever boy. Boar! Show yourself and do not touch the boy," called Danzo. An ANBU with a boar mask appeared beside Danzo. I raised an eyebrow.

"Boar is the only one here, I swear on the honor of the third Hokage," said Danzo. I nodded and pulled the book away from the fire. I flipped through a few pages pretending to look up notes.

"_I am technically twenty years old. I know who the container of the nine tail fox is. And with the exception of Hikari and Hinata I think the whole Hyuuga clan is a bunch of stuck up assholes_," I said. Danzo rubbed his chin.

"Other than the names and the fact that I'm fairly certain you insulted the Hyuuga clan, I have no idea what you just said. Say it again," he said.

I repeated the tree sentences. Danzo nodded.

"Well? Does it pass?" I asked.

"Yes. I believe you have created an entirely new language that would be very helpful to both Root and the Hokage's ANBU. If you teach it to Boar, I'm willing to let you go. IF you burn the book afterwards," said Danzo.

Burning the notes of my past life would be painful, but I could rewrite the majority of them in Japanese. But I had one question.

"Why teach it to the Hokage's ANBU as well? I thought they were separate to Root," I said.

"They are, and we have separate codes. However if one of the Hokage's ANBU is killed while carrying coded information, its possible the enemy will decipher the code. Leaving the village vulnerable. So if you decide to teach Boar the language both divisions will learn it," said Danzo.

"Why would I not want to teach Boar the language?" I asked.

"If you join Root, the Caged Bird Seal will not be placed on you," said Hiashi. I looked to him in surprise, his expression was unreadable as always. I looked back to Danzo, he nodded confirmation. My eyes widened. Not having the Caged Bird Seal placed on me? Not being vulnerable to the Main family branch? How could I say no?

Then I looked back to Danzo and remembered the other option.

"I'll teach Boar _English, _and I won't join Root," I said.

"Are you certain?" asked Danzo, "You show great potential and would be very useful in the Root."

"The seal will ATTEMPT to rob me of my freedom. YOU will steal my soul," I said. I know I sounded over the top, but I believed every word.

Danzo nodded.

"Very well. Tomorrow Boar will return and you will teach her the language, or _English,_ as you call it. Then you will burn the book," he said.

"Agreed," I said. Danzo grabbed his cane and stood up.

"I believe my business here is finished. I bid you fair well." He started for the door and Boar vanished into the rafters. When he was gone Hiashi turned to me.

"Are you certain of this? He was your last chance for freedom," he said.

"We'll see," I placed the book back in my jacket, "So, is there a place I need to be to be sealed?"

Hiashi sighed.

"Just lay down in the center of the room," he said. I walked over and laid down. An Elder in dark red robes stood above my head and started weaving signs.

"**Sealing art: Caged Bird Seal!**" he slammed his hand on my forehead. But the pain from the blow was nothing to the pain of the seal. It felt like every cell in my body had caught fire and my brain felt like it was melting.

I tried to thrash around but other Elders held me in place. So I did the only thing I could.

I screamed.

* * *

**Please review**


	3. Chapter 3

**Bold= Jutsu**

* * *

I had one hell of a headache. That was the first thing I noticed when I regained consciousness, before I had even opened my eyes. It wasn't as bad as when the seal was activated, but it still hurt like hell.

I groaned and placed a hand on my forehead, then opened my eyes. I was back in my own room, laying down on my bed. I turned my head and saw Hikari sighing in relief.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. I sat up slowly.

"I feel like this is going to be a long _fucking_ day," I said. Hikari made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a sob.

"Well at least you're your usual self," she said.

"What time is it?"

"Noon," said a voice from the corner. I looked over and saw Neji leaning against the wall.

"Neji? What're you doing here?" I asked, turning my legs so they hung over the side of my bed.

"I promised you that I would comfort our Mother until you recovered. I did just that," he turned for the door, "Now if you'll excuse me I must be on my way to the academy," he left the room. I turned back to Hikari.

"Did he actually comfort you or did he just stand next to you and talk about fate?" I asked.

"Have some faith in your nii-san Hizashi. He needed my support just as much as I needed his when you started screaming," said Hikari. My eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"It's true. His breathing was slightly panicked, he kept twitching and when he grabbed my hand he was squeezing it just as often as I squeezed his," said Hikari, "I know he doesn't show it often but he does care about you. Today was a prime example of that."

Twitching and slightly panicked breathing? That was equivalent to Naruto using an inside voice for a whole five minutes. Maybe there's hope for my nii-san after all.

I rubbed my forehead, trying to feel the seal.

"Can I have a mirror?" Hikari sighed, then handed me a mirror that was on my bedside table. Evidently she had thought I would ask that. I looked in the mirror and saw the seal. It was the standard Caged Bird Seal, a green 'X' in the middle of my forehead with a squiggly line on either side of it. Exactly what I was expecting.

But that didn't make it any less shocking to see it on me. To know that at any time a Main family member wanted to they could torture and kill me.

"You shouldn't worry too much," said Hikari, I looked up from the mirror, "The seal is only used when there is reason to believe that the person in question is thinking of, or committing treason. You blatantly disrespect the Elders, but that's not enough to warrant activation of the seal."

I let out a long sigh of relief.

"That being said, you won't get away with it as easily as you used to. Now that your training in the art of Gentle Fist has begun they can punish you by assigning you a particularly difficult training partner," said Hikari.

"Tone down the attitude, got it. So, who's going to teach me Gentle Fist?" I asked.

"I will teach you the basics, then you will move on to a Hyuuga member who still serves as a shinobi," said Hikari. I nodded, then furrowed my brow.

"Wait, YOU'RE teaching me? No offense Ma but I thought you were a servant, not a ninja," I said. Hikari smiled and closed her eyes.

"**Byakugan!**" The veins around her eyes bulged and a circle appeared in her eyes. She held the jutsu for a few moments, then released it.

"I was a ninja for twenty years then after a particularly intense battle my chakra reserves were damaged badly enough to force an early retirement. I've been a servant ever since," said Hikari.

"How was your chakra network damaged?"

"Severe chakra exhaustion. As I said the battle was long and intense. And then there was the fact that I was further drained of chakra from an insect user."

"How bad's the damage?" Hikari sighed.

"I can only maintain the Byakugan for about five minutes, and that's without also engaging in Gentle Fist. At present I can fight like a 'proper Hyuuga' for about three minutes before collapsing with exhaustion."

"Will it ever get better?"

"If I were to train properly it's possible I could get my former strength back," Hikari looked at me intently, "But right now my job is to be you and your brother's Mother."

I smiled, got off my bed, and gave her a hug. She returned it without question.

"Thanks Ma." We separated.

"So when do we start?" I asked.

"Right after a quick lunch, is ramen okay?"

"Sure."

Hikari and I walked to the dining room then she left for the kitchen. She came back a few minutes later with two bowls of Naruto's favorite food. We both sat down and ate it very quickly. I really wanted to start training and apparently Hikari did as well. When we finished we put our bowls in the kitchen then I started for the door.

"Not so fast Hizashi," called Hikari.

"I thought we were going to start training."

"We are, just not at the training ground yet." I sighed.

"Boring chakra control first?"

"Bingo, meet me in the living room," said Hikari. I sighed, and walked to the living room. Hikari was sitting on the ground meditating.

"Mirror my position and clear your mind," said Hikari. I sat across from her with my legs crossed and made the ram hand sign.

"Now breath slowly. Empty your mind and feel the chakra flowing through you."

Empty my mind, empty my mind. How hard could that be? Very hard evidently, thinking to yourself means your mind isn't empty. I know that. Then why do you keep thinking? Because you keep asking me questions. We're the same person dumbass now stop thinking and empty your goddamn mind!

...

...

...

Woah.

I felt it. I felt my chakra flowing through my body. It's almost impossible to describe what it felt like. It was like I had a second set of veins that brought warm coffee to every inch of my body. Warm and soothing yet energizing and exciting at the same time.

"Do you feel it?" asked Hikari, breaking my concentration. I shook myself.

"Y-yeah... Wow."

"It will be a long while before you will be able to gain enough control to perform jutsu. We will focus on basic control for now. we'll also need to work on the Byakugan hand signs, and your overall physical ability."

"How long before I start learning the katas?" I asked.

"At least three months, then another month before you start sparring," said Hikari, "But again, you're technically eligible to spar now. So the Elders will likely force you into one if you make them mad enough."

"I got it, I got it. So what now?"

"Now you should probably start to memorize the hand signs for the byakugan. It will be awhile before you're able to activate it but the sooner you start learning it the sooner you'll master it," said Hikari, she stood up and readied her hands, "The signs are horse, ram, boar, hare, rat,..."

My eyes got wider and wider as she quickly weaved the thirteen different hand signs needed to activate the byakugan. This was going to be a very long day.

* * *

**Mid-afternoon**

It's amazing how sore fingers can get. Forcing them into the unnatural positions of hand signs was difficult enough, but when you factor in the fact that I had to do them one after the other AND doing them quickly... Well lets just say its not very easy. Hikari had left to attend to the Elders soon after she had finished teaching me the signs and told me to practice on my own. I had spent an hour weaving them over and over again when there was a knock at the door.

I flexed my tired fingers and went to answer it.

"H-Hi Hizashi," said Hinata.

"Hey Hinata. Are, are you doing alright? You look paler than usual," I said.

"Y-yes I'm f-fine. H-how's the...?" she gestured to her forehead. I sighed and lifted my hair out of the way to show her the seal. She started pressing her fingers together and looking at the ground. I removed my hand from my forehead and placed it on her shoulder. She looked back up.

"It's not your fault Hinata. You're still my nee-san." She smiled a little and nodded. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out some string.

"I-I, um, wanted to h-help you with your training," said Hinata, "Have you started practicing the hand signs yet?"

"Yeah," I flexed my fingers again, "It'll take awhile to get used to."

"W-well, when I was learning the hand signs, this helped me train my fingers to move fast enough," Hinata started to fiddle with the string in her fingers and after a few seconds she had a cat's cradle. I raised my eyebrows slightly.

"Well can you do it again? And a little more slowly this time? Then can you walk me through it when I'm holding the string?" Hinata's smile widened.

"Sure thing nii-chan," she teased.

Good god I'm rubbing off on her, and that sounded so wrong.

"Please don't call me that. It'd be like me calling you Hinata-sama," Hinata's smile vanished, "Not that I'd ever to that." Hinata breathed a sigh of relief.

"O-okay, watch closely. First you d-do this..."

* * *

It took Hinata ten minutes to teach me to do it properly. And just in time too, right when I had gotten it down Hiashi had come and taken her for more training. I had spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between doing the cat's cradle and weaving the hand signs. Doing the cat's cradle was actually pretty helpful, I was able to move my fingers in weird ways but I distinctly knew when I screwed up. I wonder what Neji'll have to say

I heard the door open and close. Speak of the devil.

"Hey nii-san, welcome home!" I called. He didn't answer. I heard him moving a few things in the kitchen before he walked in the living room and sat on the floor next to me. He glanced down at the string in my hands.

"What are you doing?" he asked in his usual monotone.

"Cat's cradle." I flipped through the motions. Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Is there a particular reason you're playing more childish games when you should be training?"

"One, we're BOTH still kids and two this actually helps me with my fingers," I undid the cradle then did it again, "I need to train for the hand signs and this helps out."

Neji looked contemplative.

"I suppose an activity like that would improve finger dexterity. Perhaps there's hope for you yet," he got up to leave, "I need to practice the katas," he turned for the door.

"Ya know there's hope for you too," I said keeping my eyes on the string in my hands. Neji paused.

"What do you mean?"

"You actually felt and showed some emotions today. Don't deny it. According to Mom you squeezed her hand just as much as she squeezed yours when I started screaming."

"HOW CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT SO CASUALLY!?" shouted Neji. I looked to him in shock. Neji NEVER shouted, ever.

"The Main family forcefully sealed you into their servitude in one of the most painful rituals there is and you mention it the same way you'd talk about the weather."

"I never talk about the weather."

"That's not the point! The Main family just made you their slave, caged you like a bird, and you're not angry at them in the slightest? You're not angry at the people who killed our Father?"

Hiashi actually wanted to go himself but Dad insisted on taking his place. And if I told him that, him not believing me would probably be the best case scenario.

"The caged bird seal is only activated if there's reason to believe that a person is about to commit treason. And all servants willingly volunteer to serve the Elders. We are a ninja clan the village as a whole expects the clan to produce a lot of shinobi. The Main house doesn't force us into anything," I said.

"They murdered our Father."

"You know about the political bullshit around the death of our Father as well as I do. They didn't have a choice." Neji didn't respond.

"Before you say anything about the Main Family not caring about us," I gestured to the string, "It was Hinata-nee-san that taught me this." Neji narrowed his eyes. Then walked out of the room before I could say anything else.

I sighed, shook my head, placed the string down, then went back to weaving the hand signs.

* * *

It was an uneventful evening. Hikari came back, the three of us discussed our day. She said liked that I was practicing with cat's cradle. Then she prepared dinner and had us wash up after we ate. Then we all went to bed.

In the morning I woke up, yawned, then turned on my side. I saw Boar watching me from the door.

"Well... You're not creepy in the slightest."

* * *

**Please review**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry it took so long but I have another story that takes priority over this one. I'll try to update every two weeks but no promises**

* * *

Boar continued to stand there, unfazed by my comment. We stared at each other for a few moments.

"Um, can you turn around? I'm only wearing my underwear right now," I said.

"Then stand up and get dressed," Boar replied curtly.

"I would feel very uncomfortable with a grown woman who isn't my mother watching me closely as I get dressed, so can you please turn around?"

Boar didn't respond. I rolled my eyes.

"What? Are you afraid a four year old Hyuuga with no training is going to get the drop on you? I know shinobi are supposed to be paranoid but that's just a little bit insane," I said. Boar stared at me for a few moments, then turned around.

"You have forty five seconds," she said.

I quickly got out of bed and got dressed.

"Okay, done," I said, Boar turned around, "Now was it really so hard to trust me?" I asked.

If the question caught her off guard, she didn't show it much. The only reaction I saw was a slight twitch in her left hand.

"It is not your job to make conversation, it is your job to teach me your _English_," said Boar.

"I need to talk and write to teach you _English_," I said. Boar pulled a dictionary out of her weapons pouch and tossed it to me.

"Today you will tell me all the translations in that book. Tomorrow you'll teach me how to write and the next day you'll teach me sentence structure," said Boar. I stared at her for a few moments.

"You plan on learning an entire language in three days?" I asked.

"Yes."

I shook my head and sighed. This kunoichi was a bit nuts, then again she was part of Root so I guess it wasn't that surprising.

"Okay then," I opened the dictionary, "Arigato, _thank you, _aruku, _to walk,_ ashita, _tomorrow._" This continued for a few minutes when all of a sudden Hikari opened the door.

"Hizashi? Are you-. Oh," she had caught sight of Boar.

"I'll be out as soon as I can Mom," I said hastily.

"Are you sure you don't need me here?" asked Hikari, glancing nervously between Boar and me.

"Your son is teaching me what is to be an A-ranked secret. Only shinobi with permission from Danzo or the Hokage will be allowed to know this language," said Boar.

"I could cover my ears and keep my back turned from Hizashi," suggested Hikari.

"Why would you want to do that?"

"To protect me from you," I said, "In case Danzo told you to kill me when we were finished."

"I have not received an order to do so. I suspect Danzo-sama is interested in your development," said Boar.

"But if he told you to you wouldn't have a problem with killing my son?" asked Hikari. Boar looked at Hikari, I'm fairly certain she had raised an eyebrow beneath her mask.

"Why would killing your son be difficult? He has no training and the only one here to protect him at the moment is you. A retired Jonin who hasn't been in the field in eight years," said Boar. Hikari and I stared at her incredulously. Un-freaking-believable. I shook myself.

"I'm only teaching her part of _English _today, so they need me alive right now," I told Hikari. She glared at Boar.

"Alright, but as soon as you're done come straight to me. We need to continue your training," she said.

"Got it, see you soon."

Hikari turned to me and gave me a quick hug.

"Be safe." She let go and excited the room quickly. Boar stared after her for a moment then turned to me.

"Why did she wrap her arms around you like that?"

"You seriously don't know what a hug is?!" I all but shouted. Boar seemed to stagger back for a moment but then she shook herself.

"Get back to translating," she snapped.

"Okay, okay," I reopened the dictionary, "Let's see where was I? Ah here we go. Eki, _war_,..."

* * *

**One hour later**

Despite the now tense atmosphere things were still fairly tranquil until:

"Ku, _nine._"

Then before I knew it Boar had slammed me against the wall and had a kunai against my throat.

"Oomf, what the hell?!"

"How do you know about the nine tails?" demanded Boar.

"What?

"Don't play dumb. Yesterday you said that you knew _who the container of the nine tailed fox_ was. Now how do you know!?"

Shit, why the hell did I say that? Well I thought if Danzo managed to understand me he'd react. That won't exactly calm her down you know! Shut up I'm trying to make something up! Think, think, think.

...

Got it!

"Look, I really don't know," I said. Boar scratched the kunai against my cheek, drawing blood.

"Seriously I don't know! I just heard a few adults talking about how the nine tailed fox was sealed into someone and how it was a village secret. I only said I knew who it was to,"

"Provoke a reaction from Danzo-sama," finished Boar, "Since you don't know how he thinks you wanted to make sure if he somehow understood you he would react. So you said that you knew an S-rank secret. But why did you think Danzo-sama would pretend not to understand you?"

"I don't know, to lull me into a false sense of security or something. Like you said I don't know how that guy works and frankly I'm pretty sure I don't want to know," I said. Satisfied with my answer Boar let me down.

"I'll say this kid, you're either the stupidest human in existence, or a genius," said Boar. I brushed away the blood on my cheek.

"Wow, that was almost a compliment. Who knows? Maybe if you spend more time with me torturing children will actually become somewhat difficult," I spat. I could practically feel her eyebrow raising.

"I mean you'd have a little voice in your head saying: 'This is wrong'," I explained.

"You are incapable of producing a long term genjutsu," said Boar.

...

Wow, just, just wow.

"Never mind. Let's just get back to translating," I said.

"Yes let's."

* * *

**One hour later**

After that little exchange I had started translating much faster. Boar didn't complain about it, I think she wanted to leave just as much as I wanted her to go. Anyway when I finished translating the dictionary she reminded me that she'd be back tomorrow then exited through my window. I stared after her for a moment then went to the kitchen. I hadn't gotten anything to eat that morning so I was pretty hungry.

On the counter I saw that Hikari had left some food out with a note.

_Heat it up if it's too cold then come out to the training ground. We're working on your physical ability today._

_Love Mom_

I smiled. I was never in fantastic shape in my previous life but I had enjoyed working out when I had the chance. Then again this was ninja training, don't think 'fun' was what they had in mind when they trained.

I let out a small sigh then tossed my breakfast of rice and soup in the oven for a few minutes. Then I pulled it out, ate quickly, and headed out to the training ground.

The Hyuuga training ground was pretty bare bones. All it was was a large rectangular space where grass didn't grow. There wasn't any training dummies or anything at all in there. Then again stuff like that wasn't really needed. From what I saw the Hyuuga training ground was mainly used for practicing katas and unofficial sparring matches. At least that's what the shinobi did, I hadn't seen any kids practice there before.

As I entered the training ground I saw Hikari going through some katas with a with other Branch members. As soon as she saw me however she hurried over.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," I told her. She touched the cut on my cheek and looked at me skeptically.

"Boar and I had a little misunderstanding, that's all. It won't happen again," I said. Hikari scowled.

"I swear the next time I see her."

"Mom, she's ANBU, you're retired. Don't get yourself killed just because I got a little cut," I interrupted. She sighed.

"Alright, but I'm staying with you when she comes back tomorrow," said Hikari, "Anyway are you ready to start your training?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Okay then, this morning you'll be training without stop, then this afternoon Neji has a sparring match with Hinata-sama. Now that you have begun training you can attend official sparring matches if a direct family member is participating. I expect you to be there," said Hikari.

I grimaced. Yippie, I get to watch Neji beat up Hinata. Hikari noticed my expression and sighed.

"I know you and Hinata-sama are close but you need to see actual combat if you want to learn Gentle Fist."

I nodded.

"Okay. So what do you want me to do first?"

"First we'll just be seeing what you can do. So start sprinting," said Hikari.

"Sprinting?"

"Run as fast as you can for as long as you can. Laps around the training ground. Go!"

The training ground's perimeter was about an eighth of a mile. I sighed as I took off. Was I ever going to have an easy day?

* * *

**Two hours later**

Ooww. Pain.

Every limb on my body was sore, and it felt like when I moved I was pushing through a thick syrup. But I guess that was to be expected. I mean I had sprinted for a good eight minutes, ran at a decent pace for half an hour, done fifty push-ups, fifteen pull-ups and that's not even going into the chakra exercises. When I was on 'break' I had to channel chakra to my hand and use it to pick up objects. Because I had never controlled my chakra before this was mentally exhausting because locating chakra took concentration, then moving it to my hand took more, then getting the right ratio to lift objects took even more focus.

Now all that isn't very much for a ninja but keep in mind I have the body of a four year old and this is my first serious training session. When Hikari said we were finished I collapsed onto the floor and panted heavily.

"How much time do you need?" asked Hikari, standing over me.

"Why? *pant**pant* Am I in someone's way?" I asked.

"Not at the moment but you are preventing sparring matches from taking place," said Hikari. I groaned.

"Gimme a moment." I stayed still for another few seconds then forced myself to stand.

"We're going to be doing something like this everyday right?" I asked.

"It'll get easier," reassured Hikari, "Do you want some lunch?"

"I feel like my body is made of lead and if I fell asleep I wouldn't be able to wake up for a month. So yeah, I could use the energy boost," I said. Hikari smiled.

"Well since it's your first training day do you have any requests?" she asked. We started walking back to our house.

"Do we have any chicken teriyaki or gyoza?" I asked, my mouth watering slightly.

"Indeed we do," said Hikari, we had reached our rooms and headed inside, "Take a seat and I'll have it out for you in a little bit."

I took a seat at the table while Hikari walked to the kitchen. It would take her about ten minutes to make the meal so I pulled out my journal and read over my notes. I flipped to the section I had on all the music I used to listen to and started reading the lyrics. Having mild Aspergers has a few advantages, since I was socially awkward in the beginning of my old life I was able to develop a pretty good memory. Not photographic but all I had to do was read the chorus of 'Till I Collapse by Eminem and I was bobbing my head to the remembered beat. The lyrics and background music playing in my head.

After a few moments Hikari came back in and placed the meal in front of me. I grabbed my chopsticks and tug in even faster than usual. Hikari watched me and shook her head.

"If it weren't for your eyes or the fact you're in good shape I'd swear you were an Akimichi," she said.

"If it weren't for your pale eyes I'd assume you were a civilian because you don't have a massive stick up your-"

"Hizashi," she threatened. We stared at each other for a few moments then started chuckling.

"Who taught you such language anyway?" she asked, still laughing. I shrugged.

"Well finish up. Neji's getting out from the academy early today for the sparring match."

I stopped chuckling and sighed.

"Don't be like that. I'm sure when Hinata-sama sees you she'll be encouraged," said Hikari.

"You want me to root for Hinata?"

Hikari sighed.

"I love your brother just as much as I love you but he needs to get knocked down a few pegs. I try to talk to him about how people can change and so called 'failures' can prove themselves but, well you know how he is," she said.

I nodded and went back to my lunch.

Nothing I could do but hope my presence would somehow help.

* * *

**Please review**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yeah yeah, I'm late already. In my defense I had to attend a funeral for a relative I didn't know last weekend and after that I had a ton of homework and a script to write for my school's student showcase.**

* * *

I ate the rest of my lunch in silence then took my dishes to the kitchen. After I was done I walked back to the dining room and Hikari and I started walking towards the sparring hall. We didn't talk or look at each other, we were both afraid of what was going to happen there. Hikari wasn't close to Hinata the way I was, but she knew Hinata was like a sister to me so she was concerned for my sake.

We reached the sparring hall after about a minute of walking and entered. The sparring hall was very similar to the Council room, long and plain. The main differences were that that there wasn't any torches or floor mats. All the light came in through the thin material of the walls and the floor was long planks of wood. We entered at about the center of the sparring hall, Hinata was to our left, kneeling with her hands gripping her knees tightly. Hiashi and Hinata's bodyguard Ko were sitting across from us. Neji hadn't arrived yet.

Hikari and I bowed to Hiashi. (I could sense that this wasn't the time to piss him off.) Then walked a little to the left to get out of the way of the entrance. Hinata heard the floorboards creek and looked up. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw me. I gave her a shaky smile then sat against the wall next to Hikari. Hinata nodded at me then looked down to her hands.

The sparring hall was silent for a good five minutes while we waited for Neji to arrive. The only sounds were every person's breaths and sometimes a creak from the floorboards when one of us shifted a little. We were all so quiet that when Neji entered the noise from the sliding door caused me to jump a little. Ko shot me a glare, evidently he had noticed. I didn't know Ko very well. He seemed nice enough but he respected the Hyuuga tradition a great deal so he only spoke to me when he came to fetch Hinata.

Neji bowed to Hiashi then walked to the far side of the sparring hall. He kneeled, nodded to Hikari and I, then glared at Hinata. Hiashi stood up.

"You both know what is expected of you," he said. Neji narrowed his eyes and Hinata squeezed hers shut for a moment.

"Stand," said Hiashi. They stood.

"Ready." Neji activated his Byakugan while getting into the Gentle Fist stance. Hinata had to run through the hand signs to activate hers, and then she got into the stance.

"Begin."

Neji rushed toward Hinata with his left palm pulled back. Hinata gulped and stayed rooted to the spot. Neji was on her a second later, lashing out with his left palm. Hinata somehow managed to knock his arm away with her right hand, then jab her left hand, shaped like a finger gun only with the thumb over her ring and pinky finger, into the right side of Neji's chest.

I was glad Hinata managed to land a hit, but unfortunately it all went downhill from there.

Neji wasn't even phased by Hinata's attack. Whether it had been too weak or if she had missed I didn't know.

It didn't really matter. Neji slammed his right palm into Hinata's chest and she was blown backward. She stayed on her feet but the attack had clearly winded her. She grimaced then ran towards Neji launching a series of palm strikes at him. He dodged or defleted each one with ease. Running out of ideas, Hinata leapt up and tried to kick Neji from above. But he just jumped over her and kicked her to the ground.

Neji landed on his feet panting. Hinata landed on her side with a loud 'thump'. I winced.

Hinata rolled onto her front and tried to stand up. But her arms gave out beneath her and she fell again.

Hiashi shook his head then left the sparring hall. Neji gave a curt nod to Ko, then left as well. Hinata finally made it onto her hands and knees. She was crying. Ko stood up and started to walk over to help her up but Hinata quickly stood up and dashed out of the room, still crying. Ko hurried after her but Hikari and I remained sitting. We remained silent for a few moments.

"Is it always like that?" I asked, staring at my feet.

"That was the first time Hinata-sama managed to land a hit on Neji," said Hikari, "She is improving."

I glared at her.

"Oh yeah, that's a big fucking improvement right there. No hits to one hit, whoop de fucking do," I said standing up.

"Hizashi," threatened Hikari, standing as well.

"Since beating her senseless on a daily basis has improved her from 'unbelievably pathetic' to 'barely believably pathetic' let's beat her up multiple time a day now! Yeah let's punish her for not being fucking perfect at every fucking thing she does! Let's beat her shitless for not being a born prodigy despite born prodigies being pretty fucking rare. Instead of, oh I don't know training her in a way that actually fucking works? And doesn't require her to fight pointless battles that do nothing but destroy what little self confidence she has left? Nah, that'd never work, let's just beat her up!" I was shouting at the top of my lungs and Hikari was desperately trying to calm me down.

"Hizashi! Keep your voice down. I know it's unfair but they'll-"

"I don't give a FUCK what they think of me right now. The bullshit they pull with Hinata is wrong and you know it!" I yelled.

I was about to continue when all of a sudden the door to the training hall was thrown open. An Elder stood in the doorframe, and he was livid.

"You DARE to question the wisdom and tradition of the great Hyuuga clan's training techniques?" he growled.

"Elder-sama forgive my son, he's just upset to see Hinata-sama like that," said Hikari.

"He seems to be upset that the current heir was hurt, not that she is weak," said the Elder.

If I hadn't had the curse seal on my forehead I would've ripped his fucking head off.

"Her name is Hinata you old son of a bitch!" I yelled.

If the Elder was livid before he was absolutely fuming now. Hikari shoved me behind her to try and shield me. She then got on her kneels and bowed to the Elder.

"Elder-sama, please, Hizashi is only a child he does not know what he says," she begged.

"He insults the clan tradition, he feels sympathy for the weak, he insults me and my heritage," growled the Elder, "He is no longer a child in the clan's eyes. He is a full member of the Hyuuga clan and a shinobi in training," he paused, a smirk growing on his face.

Oh shit.

"And as a shinobi in training I think it's time for his first sparring match."

Shit.

"I will bring a sparring partner soon. Hopefully this will teach you respect," said the Elder. He left the room and slid the door shut. Hikari stopped bowing and returned to a kneeling position. Neither one of us said anything for a few moments.

"I know the treatment Hinata-sama endures borders on cruel," began Hikari.

I snorted.

"But simply shouting about it like that won't solve anything. Mouthing off like that is only going to get you in trouble," said Hikari.

"I least I'm actually doing something," I said. Hikari didn't move. I felt a wave of guilt roll over me.

"Mom, I'm, I'm sorry Mom. That was unfair," I said.

"It is true though. I sit on the sidelines and watch Neji hit Hinata-sama like that regularly. I also know how she is treated outside this sparring hall. I feel sorry for her yet I don't do a thing."

I was about to try and comfort her when all of a sudden the doors opened again. The Elder was there leading a Branch family member who looked about sixteen. He had black hair pulled back into a short ponytail and was wearing a chunin vest over a white shirt with dark blue pants.

"So sorry to interrupt but it's time for the match," said the Elder.

I gulped but walked over to the place Hinata had been and kneeled. The Branch member looked at me incredulously.

"Elder-sama, you wish for me to fight him?" he asked.

"Yes Junichi. Your match will be with him," said the Elder.

Junichi stared at me for a moment then sighed.

"As you wish Elder-sama," he walked over to where Neji had been and kneeled. He looked at me pityingly. I did my best to glare back, but I was terrified.

"Elder-sama, may I fetch my other son before they begin?" asked Hikari. The Elder nodded and Hikari swiftly left the room.

The Elder then walked to where Hiashi was and sat down. Junichi and I stared at each other for a few moments.

"I want you to know that I don't want to do this," said Junichi, "I take no pleasure in sparring with children to punish them."

"_Then grow some fucking balls and tell the Elder to fuck off,_" I said. Junichi looked a little startled but recovered quickly.

"Ah, so you're the infamous Hizashi," he said.

"Infamous? Gee, I'm flattered."

"Remain quiet," said the Elder.

Junichi and I went back to silently staring at each other. After a few moments Hikari and Neji entered. They bowed to the Elder then sat close to me. Hikari was biting her lip and tapping her fingers. Neji was trying to remain stone faced, but he would occasionally suck in a sharp breath and let it out shakily.

"Rise," said the Elder.

Junichi and I stood.

"Ready."

Junichi entered the Gentle Fist stance while activating his Byakugan. I did my best to imitate the stance, but it felt awkward, and I couldn't activate my Byakugan yet so I just narrowed my eyes.

"Begin."

Junichi rushed toward me, arm pulled back just like Neji's first attack. I stayed still. When it looked like he was about to attack I tried to deflect it the way Hinata had, but he had fainted, pulling back at the last second. I was wide open. Before I could recover he was back on me and he drove his palm into my stomach.

Holy shit that hurt. It felt like someone had jabbed a bunch of needles at various points where his blow had landed and I was thrown backward.

I managed to stay standing but my legs were shaking and I was bent over my stomach in pain. Junichi didn't press the attack.

"Hizashi, get into a ready position," said the Elder, "You're not done yet."

"_Fuck you_," I mumbled then I straightened up. I started to go back into my bad imitation of the Gentle Fist stance then I stopped.

There wasn't a point in trying to fight like that, I flat out didn't know how. So instead I moved my right leg behind me, placed my two fists right in front of my nose, then put my weight on my back foot so my body lowered down and my elbow covered everything from my chest to the top of my stomach.

The peak-a-boo style.

I had been a boxing fan in my old life and this was the style used by the boxer Mike Tyson. Mike was shorter than most of his opponents and had less of a range. So he'd use the peak-a-boo style to get in close, letting his arms soak up the damage, then when he was in range he would open up and bombard his opponent with punches.

I had never tried it in a real fight but at the moment it seemed ideal.

Junichi stared at me for a moment.

"Are you sure you want to use a made up stance?" he asked.

"Hey, it can't get any worse," I pointed out. Junichi shook his head then sped towards me. I tightened my fists and planted my back foot. His right palm flew out, striking my arms. Once again it felt like someone had jabbed a needle where he had hit me but I didn't give any ground. His left palm flew towards me, aimed a little higher than his first strike. I raised my fists up so they completely covered my face. His palm slammed into my fist which then banged against my head, I had to take a small step back then, but at least the throbbing needle pain was in my left hand rather than my face.

His right palm flew towards me again, this time I was ready. When it came at me I stepped forward and to the left so that his palm went past me. I was inside his guard but I wasn't in range yet. I shuffled forward then shoved my left arm into his lower chest then punched him in the stomach with my right fist.

This caught him off guard and he stumbled backward. Taking advantage of this I continued my assault, pushing him back with my left arm while repeatedly slamming my right fist into his stomach. The only reason it was working was because he was so surprised. I was a four year old and he was a hardened chunin.

Literally.

'Rock hard' abs are not an expression. I was probably doing more harm to myself than to him.

At the moment though, I didn't give a shit.

After a few moments though, Junichi recovered, grabbed my head then shoved it down into his knee. I heard a crunching noise and then fell face first into the ground. I groaned. My nose was broken and my knuckles probably weren't doing much better. I was done.

I heard Junichi panting above me. Then I heard he and the Elder exit the room. Hikari and Neji rushed to my side and rolled me over.

"Oh God Hizashi! Are you alright?" asked Hikari.

"Never better Ma," I panted out.

"Why were you acting so foolishly?" asked Neji.

"Nii-san, I'm not in the mood to yell at you about that at the moment," I said. I was still pissed at him about Hinata, but I was glad he was concerned about me.

"Hizashi? What was that technique?" asked Hikari.

Boxing, I used to watch videos of guys doing it.

"I don't know, I was just making it up as I went along," I said.

Hikari looked contemplative.

"We'll have to talk about it later. Right now we need to get you back home," said Hikari, hoisting me up in her arms.

I wanted to protest but my Mom's arms were too comfortable to resist. So I stayed quiet while she carried me back home and into my room. She laid me down on my bed when we got there.

"Alright, I'll get some ointment for your nose. Just stay here and rest okay?" she asked. I nodded and she left the room.

I stared up at the ceiling, was I ever going to catch a break?

* * *

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